Cricket career

Born in South Shields, County Durham, he was the youngest son of a wine merchant, who moved the whole family to Marylebone, London, in 1877. Stoddart made his reputation in club cricket and was playing for Middlesex by 1885. He played 16 Test matches captaining England in 8 games of which he won 3, lost 4 and drew 1. He was a flamboyant right-handed batsman and a right arm medium pace bowler.

When he was 23, just a year after his first-class debut, he was toying with the idea of giving up his amateur career in England to join his brother in Colorado. His plans changed when he took the record for the highest ever score in cricket at the time with an innings of 485 for Hampstead against Stoics on 4 August 1886. No declarations were allowed in the game and the Stoics, living up to their name, fielded all day without a chance to bat. Stoddart was seventh out, having batted six hours and ten minutes and clubbed one eight, three fives, and 64 fours. The runs were scored at a rapid pace – the score was 370 for 3 at lunch after 150 minutes of play. He made 207 for Hampstead in the next match three days later and on 9 August was playing for Middlesex and made 98, a grand total of 790 runs in a week. Stoddart was a man with a great zest for life in his younger days. He had danced then played cards till dawn before the Stoics game, batted almost through Hampstead’s innings of 813, then played tennis, went to the theatre and turned in at 3 a.m. His next innings was against Kent when he posted his maiden first-class century in scoring 116.

Then wrote the queen of EnglandWhose hand is blessed by GodI must do something handsomeFor my dear victorious Stod.

Published in the Punch following England’s 1894-95 Ashes win

Seventy years later, David Frith used My dear victorious Stod as the title of his acclaimed biography of Stoddart.

Rugby career

Stoddart with the first touring Barbarians. Stoddart seated central with ball

In 1890 Stoddart became a founding member of the Barbarian F.C., the invitational rugby club. On 27 December, Stoddart was given the captaincy of the very first Barbarian team, in a game against Hartlepool Rovers.

Personal life

While on tour in Australia, Stoddard met Emily Luckham, also known as Ethel Elizabeth, a popular singer and reciter married to Bulletin journalist and Manly, New South Wales sporting identity Robert Adams Luckham. In 1901, Emily left for Europe, reportedly for the good of her voice. She did not return, and her husband divorced her on grounds of desertion in 1903. She married Stoddart in 1906.

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About This Site

This is a centralized location in which you can go through the life span of various epitomes in respective fields.